View Full Version : Burning Man Burns Early
Kevy Baby
08-28-2007, 06:50 PM
Burning Man's icon goes up in flames, 4 days prematurely
BLACK ROCK DESERT, NEV. - A San Francisco man was arrested on felony arson charges today after the 40-foot-tall "Man" statue whose torching is the annual highlight of the Burning Man festival in Nevada went up in flames four days early, authorities said.The whole story (http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/08/28/BA2ARQRFI.DTL)
It was eventually going to happen and I'm amazed it took so many years. They put a lot of effort into avoiding that a decade ago and I know access to the man has become much more limited since I was going.
Rebuilding will end up being a great community effort, I'm sure.
CoasterMatt
08-28-2007, 06:54 PM
That's just sad...
Bornieo: Fully Loaded
08-28-2007, 08:26 PM
Wow, premature and burning in one sentance - I'm sensing STD.
DreadPirateRoberts
08-29-2007, 07:53 AM
is it really arson?
Yes.
For one thing, by starting the fire without notice he put other people at risk. The man is built on a platform into which people can go (or at least it was the last time I was there). If the fire spread quickly and people inside weren't paying attention (needless to say people at BM are frequently in less than perfectly self aware conditions) it wouldn't be difficult to trap someone inside.
Despite the generally laissez faire mood there are pretty strict rules on when and where fires are allowed. One reason is that uncontrolled and ill-prepared fires can do damage to the playa which will get the organizers in trouble with the Bureau of Land Management (and also because in the early years people had the bad habit of accidentally setting camps on fire).
DreadPirateRoberts
08-29-2007, 09:35 AM
Yes.
For one thing, by starting the fire without notice he put other people at risk. The man is built on a platform into which people can go (or at least it was the last time I was there). If the fire spread quickly and people inside weren't paying attention (needless to say people at BM are frequently in less than perfectly self aware conditions) it wouldn't be difficult to trap someone inside.
Despite the generally laissez faire mood there are pretty strict rules on when and where fires are allowed. One reason is that uncontrolled and ill-prepared fires can do damage to the playa which will get the organizers in trouble with the Bureau of Land Management (and also because in the early years people had the bad habit of accidentally setting camps on fire).
You bring up a good point. I hadn't thought of other people being hurt.
Rebuilding will end up being a great community effort, I'm sure.
My God, I bet it will be beautiful. It'll be like the ending of the Clark Gable film, San Francisco. I can't wait not to go.
Capt Jack
08-29-2007, 03:03 PM
sounds like some 3 year old wanting to blow out the candles on someone elses birthday cake
"oooh, let me! I wanna do it! let meeee doooooo it!!"
and from this pic? yeah, Im guessing Im pretty close
http://www.sfgate.com/c/pictures/2007/08/29/ba_burningmanburner104.jpg
sounds like some 3 year old wanting to blow out the candles on someone elses birthday cake
If by that you mean a corporate run birthday party that costs $250 to get in and charges $10 for a bottle of water, then, yeh, just like that.
DreadPirateRoberts
08-29-2007, 03:17 PM
"Someone went to a great extent to interfere with everyone else's burn. I think, frankly, an attention whore has made a plea for attention," said a Burning Man volunteer named Ranger Sasquatch. "In three days, we will have this rebuilt."
Darn. Somebody always takes the best names.
... an attention whore has made a plea for attention," said a Burning Man volunteer named Ranger Sasquatch.
I guess he would know.
Did they start selling water? They didn't when last I was there (but it has been a while).
All you could buy was ice. And coffee/tea/hot chocolate from a stand run by the Boy Scout troop from Gerlach.
Personally, once it was up to 20,000 people it didn't have much appeal for me any more (and Exodus is/was a thing that truly sucked the will to live from a person) but back then the expenses for holding the event were astronomical and I can't imagine they've become any better.
Out of curiosity, Tref, have you been?
Out of curiosity, Tref, have you been?
Hehe. No. I always felt the Burning Man Fesitival belonged to the Notice-Me Generation, of which I am not a part.
But then, you seemed so passionate about the subject so I thought I'd jump in, see how the proverbial water was.
And was it fine.
How 'bout you? I thought you needed piercings, tats and a funny hat (plus entrance fee)
to get in. What gives? You got tribal tats, yo?
What about it Alex? Let a brother know!
I'm not sure where what I said indicates a great passion about anything. I've been in the past and haven't been back in 8 years. I'm pretty much indifferent to it at this point, but somewhat knowledgeable about it since I used to run in some heavily involved circles (my wife was one of those attention seeking rangers two years). There are things about it that a very fun and things about it that kind of suck and a few things that are truly abysmal and overall I found it balanced out to a break even experience. But that was when it was 18,000-20,000 people. I have to think that with 40,000 it would tip over into the negative.
Mostly I'm just surprised it took so many years before somebody finally torched it intentionally (it happened once before accidentally).
No, I don't have any tribal tats. Tats are dirty and bespoil gods beautiful creation.
Actually, would you consider this tribal? I don't but I suppose others do:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/27/89019619_e22013de68.jpg
As just because bespoiling god's beautiful creation wasn't enough I openly mock it, too:
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/19/89019618_7dd0e19edd_o.jpg
However, I absolutely do not have piercings (too much trouble in the long run) and never wear funny hats.
Morrigoon
08-29-2007, 04:38 PM
No, I don't have any tribal tats. Tats are dirty and bespoil gods beautiful creation.
Had to submit that one to quotes if for no other reason than Alex saying "god" :evil:
Morrigoon
08-29-2007, 04:39 PM
No, his wife is the wearer of funny hats in the family (though I'm not sure if that is exclusively a MA-inspired event or not)
She's certainly more willing than I am.
Though I did wear gold lame pants -- tied closed only at the waist and ankles -- and vest one year (to BM, not MA).
cirquelover
08-29-2007, 04:50 PM
I read about BM this morning and thought it was sad but at least they will rebuild, even if it is a smaller version.
Alex- The bottom tat is cool, what is it?
An expression of my views on religion (essentially: religions put a lot of effort into carving out their little part of the universe and completely miss the important thing, which is to just live your life) that can easily be spun to be something else since I was planning to join the Peace Corps at the time I got it and thought maybe overt atheism wouldn't fly in parts of the world.
I have a tattoo, as well. This is me back when I used to work for the Yakuza -- that's me in the center.
I only did some light filing for them, but they forced me to get the tattoo anyway. That was probably my worst temp job. I remember it being like a long, never-ending week.
http://i191.photobucket.com/albums/z1/Tref_foto/yak.jpg
wendybeth
08-30-2007, 12:12 AM
You've a cute butt, Tref.;)
Capt Jack
08-30-2007, 08:18 AM
not to mention nice tats
:)
Hmm, well, thanks. I was much shorter then. And Japanese, too.
€uroMeinke
09-03-2007, 09:48 AM
I'm disappointed to learn there are rules at Burning Man instead of the Anarchist commune I presumed - certainly lessens the desire for me ever going.
One of the things I found interesting about Burning Man was how it demonstrated where rules come from despite the institutional desire to not have any. A living demonstration that despite any intentions, once you have more than 1 person living somewhere rules will start to develop.
That said, when I was going these were essnetially the rules:
1. Camps only in the spaces designated for camps.
2. Once you park, no driving until you're leaving.
3. Once you're leaving, no coming back.
4. No exchange of money for anything except the two exceptions mentioned above.
5. No fires except in designated places and times.
6. If you're going to be doing drugs we don't care, and the police will generally look the other way, but don't be so stupid as to actually offer some of your drugs to the police.
It may not be the anarchist nirvana, but it is a lot closer than much anything else and a living demonstration of why the anarchic nirvana doesn't really exist in a social space larger than someone's basement.
€uroMeinke
09-03-2007, 11:09 AM
Safety issues aside, I would have thought the troop would have found the premature burn amusing - much as the sand Mandala monks broke into laughter when someone blew apart the piece they had worked several days on. It's made to be destroyed - or so I thought.
I'm sure many did find it amusing and others didn't. Different people go for different reasons. There is also the fact that the burning of the man is part of a communal ceremony and ritual and that person tried to take that away from everybody.
Kind of like the lighting of firworks on the 4th of July has a ceremonial and ritualistic role other than just the fact that they were exploded. They were going to be destroyed anyway, does it really matter if Uncle Bob got bored of waiting and set them all off the morning of July 2 without anybody else around?
Personally, I found the burning of the man the least interesting part of the week (and the mood of the place didn't really get good until the day after when all of the posers who were there just to see a big fire and naked boobies left; everybody tried too hard before that), but surely even in an anarchist group there can be value seen in group rituals? And also, even if your anarchism means you don't do anything to prevent it, I assume it is still allowed for you to be personally annoyed or pissed off by the actions of others?
€uroMeinke
09-03-2007, 11:50 AM
Sure, but for me - it made me smile.
Me too, but I don't have any emotional investment in it any more.
Also the story of the guy who hung himself and his friends thought it was some form of performance art also makes me smile so my sense of humor isn't to be trusted.
vBulletin® v3.6.4, Copyright ©2000-2025, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.